Divers searching for the body of North Lincolnshire pilot David Ibbotson have found "no sign" of him after a new search began today.

Mr Ibbotson, from Crowle, was flying the plane which was carrying Cardiff City footballer Emiliano Sala to Wales when it crashed in the English Channel on January 21.

Sala's body was recovered from the wreckage of the Piper Malibu aircraft after it was located on the seabed 21 miles off the coast of Guernsey but Mr Ibbotson, 59, remains missing and a new search has started after an online appeal by his family raised almost £250,000.

Underwater searches today have focused on the wreckage of the aircraft and two experienced technical divers spent 20 minutes carrying out a thorough search of the plane.

But this, as well as helicopter searches carried out this morning, did not yield any new answers for the grieving Ibbotson family.

Shipwreck hunter David Mearns, who is leading the search, tweeted: "Returning to Guernsey having completed this morning a thorough search of the Piper Malibu wreckage, two highly experienced technical divers spent 20 minutes searching and filming the plane, sadly there was absolutely no sign of the pilot David Ibbotson.

Marine scientist David Mearns is leading the search for missing pilot David Ibbotson (Image: PA)

"Today we also organised a helicopter from the UK with two pilots and two trained observers to fly over the Channel Islands to conduct an aerial search of the CI and French coastlines that are inaccessible.

"Sadly that search for David Ibbotson's body was also negative."

An online fundraising campaign was launched through the GoFundMe website by Mr Ibbotson's daughter Danielle and has seen thousands of people make donations to help fund the private search for the North Lincolnshire man.

She recently posted: "Thank you again each and everyone for all your support. We are now able to ensure our searches take place.

"We are all hoping that the outcome is we find my dad and are able as a family to lay him to rest near to his family."

Part of the wreckage of the Piper Malibu plane which crashed into the English Channel on January 21 is shown in this image, released by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (Image: PA)

After the recovery of Sala's body, the official search was called off and efforts to recover the wreckage were brought to an end.

Speaking to Wales Online, David Mearns said: "This search is technically very different to the underwater search for the Piper Malibu aircraft. It is dependent on good weather, neap tides and flight permits. The family needs space to plan.

"The search will include a dive to the wreck to rule out 100 per cent that David's body is there and a helicopter search of inaccessible coastal areas in the Channel Islands using trained pilots and observers. All contingent on good weather, permits, etc."

The final moments of the tragic flight were revealed in an official report by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch which was released earlier this week.

The flight plan, recreated using radar data from Jersey and Guernsey, showed the flight deviated from its path around 13 nautical miles south of Guerney.

It then descended from a height of around 5,000ft at 8.14pm, before making a gradual left turn, followed at 8.16:10 by a right turn of approximately 180 degrees.